She is NOT my girlfriend
by OrangeFace99
Summary: (Revised version of "She's not my girlfriend, SHE is") The demigods finally had a chance at a normal, mortal life. Unfortunately for them, "normal" does not equal to "simple". They will never understand how mortals could perceive the things around them.
1. Chapter 1

**PLEASE READ.**

 **(If you were a reader of the first version of this story, please start here. If you're a new reader, please start reading after the asterisk)**

 **So, this is the revised version of "She's not my girlfriend, SHE is". There'll be some changes, which you will eventually discover/learn throughout the story. Now, I will try to minimize the OCs and their interaction (unless you people would want them to appear or something) and the OC's will change, including names and attitudes and I will be using them as the "outside view" for the story (or a mortal's perspective).**

 **Details will be changed, I can promise you that (because my writing style 2 years ago is completely different from my writing style now).**

 **So one of the changes I have is: No Rachel. Not that I don't like her (I love her character), but it's stated that she goes to that Clarion school, so having her in Goode would be an indirect way of saying "I'm changing canon details to fit my story".**

 **Also, Malcolm won't be a student anymore, he'll be a teacher (I think it's stated that Annabeth is the cabin head because she was in camp longer, but that doesn't mean she's the eldest. I presume- _presume-_ that Malcolm is second-in-command because he's the eldest in the camp. But it's just a presumption). What subject will he teach? _You'll find out if you read._**

 **And**

 ***Since the release of BoO has added** _ **some**_ **details, I will include them for the sake of consistency. It** _ **is**_ **stated in my summary "** _ **after the Giant War"**_ **, so yeah** _ **(dead Leo I'm so sorry)**_

 **I'll try to make it not so gloomy (like some of the "back-to-school-after-the-Giant-War fics published nowadays)**

 **There will be some changes, but I'll keep those parts that were mentioned in the reviews as "funny" or etc.**

 **Last minute reminders: I am not an American/live in anywhere in the West (Filipino here), therefore I have no idea how schools in America work. My cousin does live in America but we rarely talk now because of the _long_ distance (Timezones suck). Everything I know is because of Google. So, sorry in advance if there are any mistakes.**

 **So the ships are: Percabeth, Jasper, Tratie, Frazel (but only mentioned, or not that discussed), Solangelo (More details at the end)**

 **Enjoy**

* * *

 **Percy's POV**

The halls of Goode High had the same "First Day of School" feel every year: newly cleaned lockers, shiny floors, repainted walls, fixed doors and over-all new renovations.

Which will eventually be destroyed after a few weeks or so.

Not to mention the fact that it was _crowded_. Freshmen are walking around, trying to either fit in at their new school, or trying to find the best hiding place to live through it. The group of friends already started meeting, forming an obstacle in the halls with their literal _circle_ of friends.

Seems like Goode High is expecting an increase of freshmen and transfer students.

Personally, I think it's because of the new demigods.

Let me give you a brief background:

After the war, monster attacks were becoming less- or we were getting better (I'd believe the latter, until I tried to shoot an arrow again, and it lodge on a tree. Behind me)- until it reached the point of being boring (which is a word that you cannot describe the demigod life unless you find the words "is not" between them). The war was enough for the newer demigods to learn the importance of learning how to fight, and enough "horror fuel" (as they call it) to encourage the new arrivals to take things- like training- more seriously.

Now that it's safe to say that most of the demigods are now prepared and they follow the buddy system pretty seriously. Because of this, the thought of a normal life seemed possible.

Unfortunately most of us are still 17 and below, meaning one thing: we needed to go to school.

Bad luck, am I right?

Now, some of you might've gone "I'd rather stay in camp than school" or something along those lines, but school sounded like a small price to pay just to be normal for once (key word: _sounded_. Easier said than done). Even those who are supposed to be in college were willing to get a degree. Although not all were anchored by the idea. Especially the ones who were expelled and expect to be expelled again, albeit in a different school.

Some kids returned to their home states, some didn't. Some stayed in camp. Some moved to be closer to camp. Everything was in speed dial in case something happened.

I'm not yet informed of the conditions in Camp Jupiter, but I trust Frank and Reyna are working fine with the whole camp. We even joked that everything would be more like a military camp than usual because two children of war gods are the _praetors._

But at least there is no more Great Prophecy to worry about.

I hope.

I patted my pockets again for Riptide, a habit that I'll never stop doing. I took a deep breath and continued walking, no destination in mind.

 _You can do this Jackson, you went through wars and Hell, what's highschool compared to that?_ the rational part of my mind said

 _It's still a war, except it's in Hell that lasts for 10 months per year, with lunch breaks in between,_ another part of my thoughts said.

The temperature suddenly dropped, like in horror movies when there's a ghost around.

Jeez, why am I getting the first day jitters.

"Jackson" someone said behind me in a familiar voice.

I turned around to see not a ghost, but the Ghost King, Nico, with his usual blank face and disheveled hair.

His outfit was still all black except for the silver ring he wears on his finger for fidgeting. He looked cleaner. Probably because he had ditched the large, (stained, if I should add) aviator jacket and replaced it with a leather jacket instead.

I guess I'll have to add that he had started eating enough. His eyes didn't look so sunken anymore.

We had Will to thank for that, because it's Will that'll drag Nico out of his cabin to eat if Nico's too stubborn to listen to any of us. Nico will usually listen to Annabeth, but if he's feeling really stubborn, he's deafer than a deaf man.

Will's the one who drags him out, Nico usually kicking and screaming, sometimes dramatically hissing at the sunlight, to emphasize his hate to be outside. Once they are in the Dining Pavilion, Will won't let Nico leave the Hades' table unless the food he placed on Nico's plate is clean.

" _Doctor's orders"_ is what Will says. Even the Apollo campers started using that, but sometimes delivered as " _Will's orders"_.

After his confession (which still has me confused, honestly, but I hold nothing against him), Nico started being...social, to an extent. One of the reason was that the campers don't avoid him that much (telling the new campers about Nico was an unplanned agreement between all the old campers), so Nico doesn't feel alone and secluded.

One step closer to being a one huge dysfunctional kinda-family, that's what I say.

"Hey Nico" I said, "Didn't think you'd actually enroll. What pushed you into doing it?".

Nico let out a scoff, "Hades forced me to go. He wanted his son to be educated in the modern times, so he had my tutors leave."

"Your...tutors?" I imagined a college student wearing a very formal attire sitting next to Nico on a table filled with open books and papers in Hades' castle while a zombie chef cooks up snacks in the Underworld kitchen where the fires of Phlegethon are the fuel for the stoves.

"Yeah. Einstein's a great tutor but he forgets that he's tutoring a 14 year old and there are times he'll slip into German" Nico said.

Oh, those kinds of tutors. "Your father resurrects ghosts for your tutoring" It was supposed to be delivered as a question, but it came out in disbelief.

"Well, yeah" Nico said, "Considering the fact that the last time I went to school, I was ten years old and I the only thing I learned is not to call the teacher a big bag of garbage dumped in a boiling jar of acid, covered in poo and then shaped into a wrinkled humanoid"

I raised an eyebrow, "Did you really?".

Nico nodded, "in Italian."

I laughed at the thought of a younger Nico saying those words, "You're going to get through the teachers swimmingly then"

"Was that adverb really necessary?"

"Humor me" I said, motioning him to walk with me. Standing in the middle of the hallway isn't really my cup of tea. "You don't have your schedule yet, do you?"

"The only thing I need to know is when dismissal is" Nico said, "Yes, I don't have my schedule"

"Okay, let's go find our schedules" I said.

"You don't know where to get the schedules, do you?" deadpanned Nico after a moment of silence.

"Hey, I can find a way" I said. Nico rolled his eyes.

* * *

That was how I ended up with the son of Hades on my heels, lost in the labyrinth called high school hallways.

I looked around. I saw some familiar faces when I was here in Goode the last time. Some girls were checking me out (sorry girls, but I'm taken) and some guys were ignoring me or staring right at me that a hole might as well been on my forehead. I also saw some of the campers.

Some fit in immediately, like that one Aphrodite kid who managed to get a Junior carry her bag for her. I saw an Apollo kid accidentally hit a short boy on the head with his guitar.

Other words: everything is all dandy.

I navigated through the large crowds of students. Every now and then, I turn around to check if Nico was still following behind me and not caught in a large "Join our club" gathering. Again.

After assuring Nico was behind me (the kid was avoiding people's touch like the Plague), I went back on focusing the main objective: Getting our schedules.

From a distance, I can hear a high-pitched voice calling out: "Freshmen! Transfers! If you have any questions, come here, and we'll make sure you'll get your answer in the Goode way!"

Behind me, Nico scoffed, " _Goode way_. Creative" he muttered.

We followed the voice, since there was really no other possible directions where we should go. We turned a left, where the voice got louder and louder.

At the end of the hall, there was a table with 5 students in white polo shirts, sitting on monoblock chairs. The only one standing was a girl who I expected to be the one shouting, her hair held back with a tight ponytail. She was giving out flyers to anybody unlucky enough to go near her paper-giving reach. I looked at the banner above her.

"Student Information Area"

Some students eventually went to their table and asked questions, holding the map that was offered when you stepped in the school. One person would entertain the question, answer it, and the student would be gone.

"Hey Nico," I asked, "Did you get a map?"

"A map?" Nico said, "of what?"

"Since you don't know what map I'm referring to, I'll just say you don't have it" I sighed.

Nico asked, "Are you talking about a school map?"

"Yeah," I said, "Did you get one?"

Nico shook his head.

"Student Information Area then?" he suggested.

We walked towards them. The girl had just started advertising their mini-booth again.

"Freshmen! Transfers! If you have any questions, come here, and we'll make sure you'll- oh hey there! You must be a transfer. You look too old to be a freshmen. And you" she turned to Nico, "must be a Freshmen. Am I right?"

"Sophomore, actually" Nico said.

"Oh" the girl exclaimed, "I'm sorry, I didn't-"

The boy behind her snorted. Unlike the girl, he was typing on a laptop when we arrived. But when we got closer, I heard the sound effects of a character dying in-game. Based from the dying grunt the character made, I'd guess the game he was playing was Outlast.

I had played the game once.

Once.

Never again.

The girl turned to the boy behind her to glare at him, but he didn't even look at her. "What do you guys want to know?" he asked, turning his attention away from the laptop.

"Uh..." I started, but Nico beat me to it, "Where can we get our schedules?" he asked.

The girl grinned, finally having a chance to answer. "In the principal's office. Go this way and turn left, first door on your right."

"If you're confused with the instructions," the boy took maps from one pile in the table, and handed one to each of us, "Here's a map- assuming you guys didn't get one at the entrance. The principal's office is labelled there. Tell the secretary you're transfers, and that you need your schedules. You'll know what happens after" he added before returning his attention to the game.

We thanked him. When we walked away, I heard the girl say, "I can't _believe_ you, Arne. That should've been mine to answer..."

"Do you think the grin would have been permanent if she kept on smiling all throughout the time we were there?" Nico asked, opening his map.

"I hope not, but I'm not worried. She's not really smiling now, from the sound of it" I said, "So, where is the ' _Principal's Office'_ in the map?"

* * *

We reached the door with "Principal's Office" above it after some difficulty. Dyslexia is a pain. On the door, " _One student at a time. Form a line"_ was placed in bold letters.

As I was about to look through the glass, the door opened and a tall blond guy walks out.

"Excuse me" he said, and continued his way to the halls. Nico and I looked at each other, then at the door, then at each other.

"Rock, paper, scissors" he suggested

"2 out of three" I said

* * *

I knocked on the door first before opening it.

"I didn't understand the rules of the game" I muttered. Behind me, I can _see_ the smug grin on Nico's face, even if it's in my head.

Was it " _T_ _he first one to get to three is the second person to get in"_ or _"The first person to get to three is the person who gets in the office first"?_

Either way, I was going in first.

There was a desk with a woman, probably in her early twenties, typing on the computer, a long bench against the wall in front of it. On the opposite wall was the door to the _actual_ Principal's office. Might as well change the label on the door behind me as " _Secretary of the Principal's office_ ".

"Good...morning?" I said, closing the door behind me.

The woman continued to type on her computer, pausing every now and then to look at the notebook beside her. Well, I tried to greet her

I cleared my throat. That caught her attention as she slightly raised her head and her eyes quickly glanced at me, before going back to the computer screen, the sound of the keyboard being tapped at.

"Transfer?" the woman said, never lifting her eyes from the computer.

"Yeah"

"Surname and year"

"Jackson, Senior"

The printer beside her beeped as it started printing.

She handed me the paper once it was done printing, "I translated it to Ancient Greek for you."

I raised my eyebrow at her. "How-"

"You're a famous demigod, Mr. Jackson. Even monster know you by name" she said, "No need to fret. I also have a list of all demigod who enrolled here, in case me being a demigod wasn't enough"

"Oh, you're a demigod. Well, that's...great." I said, "Why are you here?"

"Better call in Mr. di Angelo to make things quick" she said, looking at her notebook, "I don't have the time to repeat things. I have work to do, please"

I turned around and opened the door. Nico was standing by the doorway, his face blank. Behind him, a line of students formed while I was inside.

"Come in" I said to him, then whispered, "the principal's secretary is a demigod, just so you know"

Nico nodded. I moved aside to let him in the office before closing the door behind him. The sound of a printer printing stopped just as Nico went close to the desk. The secretary- I have to learn her name- handed Nico his paper, "Sophomore, am I correct?"

Nico nodded and asked, "Who are you?"

The secretary looked at the both of us, "Just call me Ms. Jones. I'm a daughter of Apollo. The Roman one, not the Greek one, but I don't think that's important"

"If you won't mind me asking" Nico said, placing his schedule in his pocket, "What are you doing here?"

"Working, of course" Ms. Jones said, "a demigod has to make a living"

"We understand that, but why Goode High?" I asked, "I'm pretty sure there are other schools. Why here?"

Ms. Jones paused typing for a while, pursing her lips, "It's...precaution"

"For what?"

"Anything that _might_ happen" Ms. Jones said, "Think of it as back-up, in case anything happened"

"Good to know that a member of the school staff would believe us if we said a monster barged in the classroom and not us destroying it" I said, "Thank you, again, for the schedules.

"Wait" Ms. Jones said, handing us pieces of papers, "Here are your locker numbers and their combination. Now go. If I'm correct, there should be a small line of students forming outside"

* * *

I checked the paper in my hands. I had Advanced Algebra and Geometry, Trigonometry ( _Three math subjects this year, gods)_ , Chemistry, English/Literature ( _I guess Paul is teaching this one)_ , Technology, Elective, Biology, P.E., and History.

The schedule changes, so there is one subject that is not tackled everyday. The subjects that _do_ stay are the Math ones, Biology, English and History.

There is also Homeroom Period but then again when is there never Homeroom. The room numbers are written under the subject.

 _Perseus Jackson - 408b - XXXX._

"Now where is Locker 435b?" Nico said, "What's your Locker number?"

"408b" I replied, "Check the map. The lockers are labelled."

As Nico unfolded the map, I wondered out loud, "Where do you think the others are?"

Nico shrugged, "They were still at Camp when I left, but then again, I shadow-traveled, so the one hour drive was like 5 minutes for me. I came here early, remember?" He raised the map up, "So, 435...435...4-"

Nico's mumbling was interrupted when a short girl hit him- or rather, he hit _her_ , because he was walking while his focus was on the map.

"I'm sorry" I picked up her stuff and gave it back to her. Nico mumbled a "sorry" as well, picking up her stuff that flew too far. The girl was Asian, as clear by her almond-shaped eyes and the dark hair.

And she was angry.

I stood there, staring at the short, angry girl.

The girl opened her mouth to say something to Nico and I, probably something harsh, but another girl came up and pulled the Asian girl's arm.

"What are you doing?" the brunette that just arrived whispered harshly to her. She turned to us and smiled, "I'm sorry. Please forgive her...angry disposition. She's going through a girl thing".

With that said, the brunette practically dragged the other girl out. I can hear the Asian one ramble loudly while the brunette nodded along, pulling her to another hallway

I stared at where those girls turned while my head processed what just happened.

"Girls" Nico muttered, "Percy, your phone is ringing. Are you going to answer it or are your going to let the whole hallway suffer to your ringtone?"

True enough, my phone was ringing. I gave Nico a light glare at his comment.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. ' _Why do you have a phone? Isn't that bad for you because of the whole monster thing'._

Well, 1) How did you know about that thing, and 2) The Hephaestus cabin made them for people who are prone to monster attacks ( _a.k.a. me_ ), are not all-rounders ( _I'm one of them_ ) and have a high death expectancy ( _Bingo. That's me ladies and gentlemen. Perks of being a child of the Big Three_ ). The original plan was to make them for all the campers, but it might be a waste of parts because not all are going to leave the safety of the camp.

Luckily, the phone self-updates. For example, I now have the latest iPhone (or iKlisi as the Hephaestus kids called it) even though I got this a few months before the latest iPhone was released.

Being a demigod has it's benefits.

The caller ID glowed in the slightly dim hallway: Jason Grace. The stolen picture that I took of him filled the screen, it was his face when we had dared him to suck out the juice of half a lemon. Beside me, Nico let out a snicker at the image and of the memory.

I pressed "Accept".

"Hey man, where are you?" I said, following Nico as he navigated through the halls, the map in hand.

" _We're heading there. Also, I need to ask you a thing"_ was Jason's reply.

"What thing?" I said.

" _Do you have-"_ The call ended with a beep.

I sighed and placed my phone back into my pocket. So much for "no demigods left behind".

"Locker 408, here it is" Nico said, "And my locker is" he turned around to face the set of lockers on the opposite wall, "right across. Amazing"

"Technically, it's not really across from mine" I said, "Your locker is technically across and one locker to the left from mine"

"Thanks. That reassured me" Nico said, walking over to his locker.

I tried the combination on Locker 408... and it's stuck. I tried the combination again, but the locker won't budge.

I looked around, catching Nico's aggravated look that was directed at his locker.

"It won't budge?" I called out. He looked at me and shook his head. I looked around,hoping that those students in white polo shirts were passing the hallway.

I didn't see any white polo shirts.

What I saw, however, were people kneeling down and opening the locker below. I glanced at the locker below me, still labelled "408", then the kneeling students, then the other "408" locker.

Trying my luck, I knelt down to the locker underneath and tried the combination.

The locker door opened.

"Really?" I whispered to the locker, as if it could hear me. I turned around, seeing Nico frown at me, then frowned at his locker. He knelt down and put in his combination. When the locker door opened, he banged his head on Locker 435a.

I stood up and kicked the locker door closed. There wasn't much to put it, anyways.

"Well, what now?" I asked Nico. He shrugged and stood up, brushing the dust off his knees. When we turned around, a group of students- specifically girls- ran to our direction. I finally know what it feels like to be in the way of a mini-stampede. I bumped, hit, crashed and collided with every girl that passed me. A student managed to kick my feet under me. I had no idea who or what they were running towards, but I was not interested.

So much for "A Goode Experience"

I sat up and rubbed my side as I glanced at what the commotion was about. Many students were encircling the entrance, some pushing others out of the way. I ignored them. If it was really important, it would be discussed in the orientation.

Nico appeared beside me, grabbing my arm, pulling me up, "Did someone flirt with you?" he asked

I raised an eyebrow at him, "What? No. What made you say that". I pulled my arm away when I was standing on my two feet. I brushed the dust off my jeans.

"Because" Nico started, a grin starting to grow on his face (I had to admit, it was a scary grin), "You were swept off your feet"

A moment of silence fell between us, Nico's grin didn't falter.

"Who are you and what have you done with Nico di Angelo"

"Shut up"

" **Klisi" (with the accents and all) is Greek for "call", so it's literally "iCall". Yeah, that's all for now. (Have I ever mentioned that I'm not a writer? Yeah, I'm no hobbyist as well. This sounded like a good idea before)**

 **Concerning Solangelo: I personally ship it, to an extent (I ship a lot of things, thanks to Homestuck). But it won't be explicitly displayed (like holding hands, kissing, and such), maybe, Solangelo, if you squint. Very hard.**

 **(that pun at the end _I'msosorrynoI'mnot_ )**

 **I'm working on Chapter 2**


	2. Chapter 2

**Jason's POV**

"Turn right!" Katie screamed behind us.

Piper jerked the wheel to the right, narrowly avoiding an impact with a Honda Civic. The driver honked the horn angrily. Even if it was still very early- emphasis on _early_ \- cars were already on the road.

"How did you not see that?" Travis said, clutching the seat belt like his life depended on it. But the way Piper is driving, it might as well be

"Piper, slow down!" Annabeth said, "We're gonna crash into another car"

Piper, who was holding the steering wheel tightly, didn't bother looking at Annabeth as she replied, "I can't slow it down! Something's wrong with the accelerator. It won't slow down!"

With me being in the passenger seat of the camp's SUV, I had a visual on what Piper was seeing. Passersby were a blur, cars were slow in our perspective, and the road was a long expanse of asphalt that we needed to get off. I was gripping the driver's seat- where Piper was seated- with one hand and the other on my seat.

"Step on the brakes!" I said, "We're not going in the city in this speed!"

"What?!" Piper exclaimed, "Are you crazy? The impact-"

"Okay, I see your point!" I continued, "Go out of the road, Piper. Put on your seatbelts!" I called out to the passengers behind us. I heard the sound of the seat belts being locked.

"Now Piper!" Annabeth said, her hands gripping the seat below her tightly.

With that, Piper steered to the left, going on a dirt path. The rocky ground led to a bumpy ride. Piper had to swerve around the trees and plants.

"Now what?" she said, leaning far back on her seat as her knuckles turned white from gripping the steering wheel.

"Brakes!" Travis and Connor shouted simultaneously from the back.

Piper stepped on the brakes as hard as she could, abruptly halting the car. We all lurched forward. Katie almost flew right through the window but she collided with my arm instead. The SUV stopped right in front of a tree.

We all sat there for a while, taking deep breaths. Annabeth was the first one to snap out of it, removing her seat belt and stepping out. Katie followed after her, the Stolls right after Katie. The brothers knelt down on the ground, "Never ride a car with a daughter of Aphrodite driving. Never again!" Connor wailed. Travis nodded to his younger brother.

"What the Hades was the problem?" Piper called out as she stepped out of the van, "I took this out for a test drive yesterday! This didn't happen".

Annabeth had opened the hood and checked the engine, "Let's see what's the problem"

I stepped out as well, walking to the front of the car. The front of the car was centimeters away from the tree. I breathed out a sigh of relief. I didn't want to know what the harpies would do to us if we crashed the camp SUV.

Annabeth rolled up her sleeves and prodded the wires. I had no idea what she was doing, but she had.

"Thank the gods we left early, though" Katie murmured, "I won't accept being late on the first day of school. Manhattan's an hour drive."

"Why don't you just move in with your parent's, then?" Travis suggested. Katie looked at him, frowning, "I _am_ moving in with them. The reason I'm here right now because I wanted to enjoy Camp before class and had to hitch a ride with you since you're all going to the same school anyways. Why do you think my things are packed and going to be delivered?"

"We all had our clothes packed" Travis said, "Newsflash, we're staying at Percy's for the school year"

"Although technically our clothes would be delivered to us by Argus" Connor noted in a whisper.

"There" Annabeth said, closing the hood and wiping her hands on her pants, "It seems like _someone_ altered the wire for the acceleration"

Her eyes turned to the Stolls. Travis gave Connor a look and Connor returned the look. Travis nudged Connor on the ribs. Connor did the same to the older Stoll.

Katie, Piper and Annabeth glared at the brothers. I gave them a sympathetic smile for being in the receiving end of the glares.

"What did you two do?" Katie asked, her arms on her hips.

"It was a prank" Travis explained

"A forgotten prank" Connor added, "We hijack the SUV years ago, but since the SUV wasn't really used everyday- with the war and all- and since no one went that fast ever since, we forgot about it. And then Piper stepped on the accelerator too hard and here we are" Connor ended with a hesitant smile.

"So, it's not _really_ our fault, since Piper went over the speed limit and triggered it" Travis said.

"It was Travis' idea" said Connor, earning a punch on the arm from the older brother.

"Unbelievable" Piper muttered, rubbing the bridge of her nose, "Now what?"'

Annabeth looked at her watch, " The wiring is fixed, so I can say that we're good to go. We need to go fast if we don't want to be late. Everybody, in the car"

* * *

Piper honked the car horn, "Red light! Just when we were about to pass the intersection! Really?" she said. The cars behind her honked as well.

"I know a shortcut that's out of the main road" Annabeth said, "Turn left instead of going straight when the light turns green"

Piper nodded, lowering the volume of the radio. The song on the radio was annoying- a new song that was released weeks ago that 90% of it was just the same line sang over and over- so Piper placed a random CD in. Frank Sinatra's singing filled the whole car.

"Go back to the modern music" Connor said. I ejected the CD and went back to the radio.

"How about we turn it off" Annabeth stated, "If I hear the word 'booty' again, I slap someone"

The light turned yellow, and I saw Piper readying her foot on the accelerator.

When the light turned green, Piper immediately drove off, turning left as Annabeth said. It passed a busy neighborhood. Students- who were distinguished by their bags and the face that said "It's Monday and it's the first day of class"- walked in the sidewalks, those who crossed the street stopping when we passed.

"Oh no" mumbled Annabeth. I turned around to see what's wrong. She was going through her bag, her notebooks placed on the seat as she stuck her hand in her bag.

"What are you looking for?" asked Katie. Annabeth placed her notebooks back in and patted her pockets. "My phone, I don't have it" she frowned, " I swear it was-"

"Was what?" Piper asked as Annabeth stopped talking. Her eyes had widened.

"Percy" Annabeth responded, "He has my phone. No wonder something wasn't right"

Travis leaned back on his seat, "I don't get it-"

"Surprise" muttered Katie

"Why does Percy have your phone?" Travis continued, ignoring Katie's comment, "He has his own"

Annabeth pursed her lips, "He probably thought it was his own. We haven't customized our own phones, anyways. He must've mistaken it as his."

"Can someone call him?" she continued, "I need to make sure that he hasn't lost my phone. I had designs downloaded in there"

"I'll do it" I volunteered, taking out my own iKlisi. I pressed Percy's name in my contacts, his picture a stolen photo of him before he sneezed. I know his contact photo of me is something embarrassing, so it's fair that his photo in my phone is embarrassing as well.

" _Hey man_ " Percy said when he answered the call, " _where are you_?"

"We're heading there." I said, "Also, I need to ask you a thing _"_

Piper shot me a quick look that said " _Really? A thing?"_

" _What thing?_ "

"Do you have- _"_

The car skidded to a stop, my phone falling from my hand and onto the floor. I looked up to see kids running across us. Piper must've hit the brakes when the kids weren't stopping. I reached down for my phone, finding it under the chair. The call had ended.

"Want me to call him again?" I asked Annabeth. She shook her head, "No, it's fine. We're here anyways."

I placed the phone in my pocket as Piper drove in the parking lot of the school. There were other cars parked already, some in the "Reserved for Teachers" area. Piper managed to park in a shaded area near a tree.

"All right" she said, unbuckling her seatbelt, "Welcome back to high school"

* * *

Goode High was nothing like Wilderness School, and that's a good thing. The white steps that led to the school's front doors- which were open- were filled with students. Right next to the door was a person in a white polo shirt handing out pamphlets.

"Welcome to Goode High!" he said, greeting students and handing out a pamphlets. When we went closer to him, he turned to us and grinned, "Welcome to Goode High! Would you want a school pamphlet?" he handed out the pamphlet, "The school had a major reconstruction, so even if you studied here last year, there would be changes that will be new to you. The map is inside"

I took the pamphlet from his hand and opened it. A map covered the whole expanse of the paper.

"Thanks" I said to him. He grinned back and started handing out the pamphlet to other people.

"Where to first?" I asked Annabeth, who was looking her map. She closed it and said, "Well, we're going to get our schedules first, since it says here that the orientation will take up most of the homeroom period, and that is the period when the schedules are going to be distributed."

"But where are we going to get the schedules?" Katie asked.

"I can help!" a cheerful voice behind us said. We turned around to find another student in a white polo shirt. She had her red hair tied back in a long braid that ended at the small of her back and her grin was decorated with braces. "Are you guys looking for directions?" she asked

"Yes, we are" Annabeth said, "Where can we get our schedules? We're all transfers here so we have no clue"

"Oh, all of you are transfers?" the girl asked, "Well, first of all, Hi! My name is Sharon and I'm the student council PRO" she smiles. We smiled back. Well, _I_ smiled back. I didn't know what the others did.

Sharon held out her hand to Annabeth, "May I borrow your map please?"

Annabeth gave her the pamphlet. Sharon opened it and turned the map so Annabeth was reading it right. Sharon pointed at a blue box labelled " _Principal's office"_

"You'll get your schedules here at the Principal's Office. The fastest way to go there is to go to the end of the hall, turn..."

She started tracing a path with her finger, Annabeth's eyes following every move, until her fingernail stopped on the blue box.

"I have to warn you though" Sharon said, "The line outside is getting long. It's better if you send one 'representative' of your group to get all your schedules and locker combinations"

"We understand. Thank you" Annabeth smiled. Sharon smiled back and walked away. Annabeth turned to us, "Come on, guys. You heard the PRO, we need to get moving"

After a few minutes of turning left and right through hallways, we found ourselves facing a long line of students. Katie tapped one shoulder of the person in line and asked, "Is this line for the Principal's office?"

The person nodded. Katie turned around to face us and said, "Well, who's our representative?"

I shrugged, then I realized all eyes were on me.

"Really?" I asked

"Really" they responded

* * *

"May?" I exclaimed at the secretary sitting on the table in the Principal's Office, who was once one of the older members in the 5th cohort when I was young.

The secretary looked up, "I prefer Ms. Jones, _praetor_. Please, close the door"

I closed the door behind me, "I'm not the _praetor_ now, Ma-Ms. Jones"

Ms. Jones raised her eyebrow as the printer beside her beeped, "Oh, I see. Were there a lot of changes? The last time I was in camp, Percy Jackson rose to _praetorship_. Is Reyna-"

"She's still _praetor_ " I assured her, "Can I get the schedules of Piper McLean, Annabeth Chase, Katie Gardner, Travis Stoll, and Connor Stoll as well?"

"Of course". She typed into the keyboard in a fast pace, "All are seniors except for Connor Stoll, am I correct?"

"Yes" I answered. She printed out 6 pieces of paper back to back and took six slips of paper as well, handing it over to me, "Those are your lockers and their combinations". I thanked her and stepped outside, where the line of students grew longer. Piper was waiting for me outside.

"The secretary is a demigod" I whispered to her as I handed her her schedule. She took it from me and turned to me with raised eyebrows, "Why am I not surprised"

"We rode a flying warship with a bronze dragonhead. It'll take a lot to surprise us" I said, "Where did the others go?"

"They're checking out the clubs and organizations outside. They're showing off their clubs now but they're going to accept new members this Friday. Katie already made friends in the gardening club, and Annabeth was in deep discussion with members of the Braniacs club"

"You didn't find anything that interest you?" I turned to her. She had fixed her hair neatly today, to the _loud_ insistence of her siblings. Her hair, which had gotten longer over the months, was pulled back with two braids at the side of her head, where they connected at the back with an eagle feather clip.

Piper was silent for a while, "Do you think I'll go great in debate?" she finally said, "I mean, I'm not as smart as Annabeth, but I'm no idiot. I know a lot of stuff, I guess"

I grinned, "Yeah, you'd be great for that. You're not planning to use Charmspeak, are you?"

She looked up to me with a smile on her face, "Actually, that never crossed my mind. Thank you, Jason"

"I've said something that shouldn't have left my mouth" I muttered, "Anything clubs you think are good for me?"

"How do you feel about football?" she suggested

"Nah, I won't see the ball without my glasses" I answered, "I'd probably mistake the ball as a bird"

"A bird that's going straight down" Piper said, "How about basketball? You have the height and the aim"

I considered that for a while, "I'll put that under maybe" I said

"And you say I'm the one who can't make a quick decision" Piper teased, "How about...drama?"

"Drama?" I asked, "What made you say that?"

"I just said the first thing that came out" she explained, "Besides, you're not giving me much of an option. I haven't really looked through all the clubs"

"Then let's go there. We'll head to our homerooms once the first bell rings" I said and I let Piper guide me to the clubs

* * *

There weren't a lot of clubs that perked my interest, but one did catch my attention. It was the Re-enactment club

We found their booth beside the staircase, so they were pretty hidden . There were a few people loitering around, so I assumed it wasn't popular. When Piper and I walked towards them, the blond guy who was sitting behind the booth looked up from his phone.

"Hello...?" he said slowly, putting his phone down "Are you two interested in joining the club?". The way he asked it was like he knew he shouldn't have asked the question but he should, out of protocol, maybe.

I looked at the booth they set up. Pictures of people in medieval armor decorated the sides of the stand. A Viking helmet hung from the edge of the small counter top. A tarpaulin with the words "Reviving the Past in the Present" hung on the front in a font that used Greek symbols. The blond guy, who regarded us with green eyes, kept silent. Then, another guy walked towards us.

"Hi! Are you two interested in joining?" The guy who just arrived told us. He was tall and lean and had a smile directed at us.

When I didn't answer immediately, Piper chimed, "Yeah, we are, but what does this club do?"

"Well, from the name itself, we re-enact parts of history. We dress up befitting to the time period, speak and act like people from that time" he explained.

"So basically we're historical cosplayers" the blonde guy added nonchalantly, typing away on his phone.

"Don't mind Reinier. He's just bummed his girlfriend is not in the student government anymore so he can't see her everyday at morning announcements" the lean guy said, "My name's Phillip, by the way"

"She's not my girlfriend" Reinier muttered, directing it to Phillip.

"Oh yeah" Phillip said, looking at Reinier, "She's your crush for 3 years. Sorry, Freudian slip"

Reinier rolled his eyes, and regarded us, "So, you guys interested? There's not a lot of members so you don't have to worry about forgetting people's names. Also the new club moderator is pretty cool" he said, his voice hiding a bit of an accent. German? Dutch? I was never really the one to distinguish accents.

Piper looked at me, an eyebrow raised. I raised an eyebrow back at her.

"Well?" she asked.

I pursed my lips, then looked at Reiner, "Sounds good. Yeah, I'm interested"

Phillip grinned, "That's great. Well, official entry of new members is this Friday, so just go to Room 413. That's our assigned room" he shook my hand, "I didn't catch your names by the way."

"I'm Jason, and this is my girlfriend Piper" I introduced us to him. Piper gave him a small smile, then we turned and left.

"Are you really interested in the club?" Piper asked when we were out of ear shot.

I shrugged, "It sounds fun"

* * *

 **Thalia's POV**

"Farewell, Lieutenant" one of my Hunters- a nymph- said, "May you succeed in finding new hunters"

I gave her a small smile as I laced up my boots, "You're in charge until I get back. Keep our sisters safe"

The nymph nodded, her violet hair moving with the direction of her head, contrasting the silver jacket the Hunters wear in the summer. She went back to guarding some of the Hunters, who were washing up on the stream after a muddy hunt, the water around them turning brown. Others who were not bathing were on guard duty as well, arrows and knives ready. We already learned from mythology that whenever girls take a bath in a body of water, something bad always happens. It's like a common trope in mythology.

Due to the Giant War, the number of the Hunters had dwindled. Our youngest was physically 14, but her true age was 16. It was not a good sign. Everybody knew that we needed more recruits. Artemis herself appeared and mentioned the elephant in the room one day

 _Artemis appeared before us when we were hunting a rogue dracanae that was loitering around the forest near the city. Before I could release my arrow, Artemis arrived and sliced the dracanae in half, turning it into dust. We knelt before her but she held up her hand._

 _"I shall be quick" Artemis had said, "You all know that I have been gone these past few day because of an important meeting with the Olympians. We have been discussing what should happen now that Gaea is dormant. Our decision is to train more warriors in preparation, in case she may decided to rise again, or another being may strike. With our luck, especially with a number of wars in the past 2 years alone, there might be one"_

 _The whole group was silent, waiting for Artemis to continue._

 _"To prepare ourselves, we need to recruit more Hunters. I would accompany you all but I have duties in Olympus that I must deal with, so I need volunteers to go and leave the group to search for recruits" she said._

 _Nobody moved. The thought of leaving the Hunters- even if it's physically leaving- unnerved others. Monster attacks, though getting less, were stronger. Going alone would be dangerous. I turned around to face the Hunters, smaller in number because of the War, then to Artemis._

 _"I volunteer, my lady" I said, stepping forward, "I shall go find new recruits"_

 _Artemis nodded, "Very well, Lieutenant. You will leave in two days. I shall transport you to your location, and I will give your instructions there. You may now go"_

 _I closed my eyes as Artemis glowed, shining in her true form. In a second she was gone, the area around her lush green with grass._

I blinked myself out of the flashback. The day after, Artemis had sent me a silver backpack with a note. " _This bag is enchanted to hold twice it's average volume."._ Inside were clothes and shoes (they fit me _and_ they were my taste. Thank you, Artemis) and another note: " _Change into these before you leave"_

And that was how I ended up in jeans, combat boots, a leather jacket open over a silver shirt instead of the usual Hunters outfit. The circlet was still on my head, because I have no idea what to do with it. Should I give it to the nymph?

I stood up and turned to my Hunters. I waved goodbye to those who were watching me. One of them waved back enthusiastically. I shouldered the backpack and walked into the forest. I was a meter away from the camping site we made when a golden-horned deer erupted from the trees. My first instinct was to draw my bow, but I remembered it was a sacred animal of Artemis.

"Am I supposed to follow you?" I asked the deer, as if it'll reply. It turned its head and ran off.

Since the other choice was to wander the forest aimlessly, I followed the deer, then there was a bright light.

The last thought I had before being temporarily blinded by the light was " _Oh shit"_

* * *

 **TADAAAAAA SECOND CHAPTER**

 **So remember when I said "I'll post the whole thing when I finish rewriting it"**

 **Well, I'm a promise-breaker, and I'm afraid of having it deleted because of the 90 days thing. So I'm posting the first two chapters.**

 **Yes, Will will (hehe will will) be there. I'm adding Lou Ellen because she works in the plot I'm making.**

 **So Reinier is a character of a story I originally made, so this is also my practice in writing him (although he's not really in high school, but this is just a practice). It's hitting two birds with one stone.**

 **Also, some OC's I have named are just background characters (like Sharon the PRO. She's there to show that "Hey, there is a Student Government")**

 **Okay so there will be swearing. Any questions, comments, concerns, feel free to review/P.M. me :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So, it's chapter three, obviously.**

 **I forgot to mention this in the previous chapters: To those who read "She's not my girlfriend, SHE is", I'd like to thank you so much for dealing with my** ** _horrible_** **writing style. I myself couldn't handle the first three chapters, yet you dealt with 16 chapters of it and I'd like to say thank you** ** _so so much_** **and I'm** ** _so_** **sorry you had to go through with that. I'll promise I'll make it up to you with a (less shitty) story (I hope)**

 **Also I had some details edited in Chapter 2. Very minor. Like, a few words that made no big impact. But an edit nonetheless.**

* * *

 **Thalia's POV**

When the light dimmed down, I found myself in the hallway of a hotel. And not just any hotel, it was a really fancy looking one, with a lush carpet and the doors were so shiny, I could see my reflection on them. I was standing in front of a door to prove that, yes, I could see my reflection.

In a distance, I could hear classical music being played.

Was this really where Artemis wants me to go?

As if to answer my question, a note was on the floor with a hotel room key card on top of it. I picked them up and looked at the note. It was written on a silvery texture paper and the writing was in cursive: " _You shall be staying here for the whole duration. Place your things inside first"_

Following instructions, I swiped the key card on the door. The door unlocked with a beep. I opened the door and whistled at how fancy the place looked. It wasn't really big, but big enough for one person. A bed- _a king sized one-_ was pushed to the left, the headboard to the wall. The sheets were white but the comforter was brown. Beside the bed was a small drawer and a lamp on top of it.

On my right, just as I stepped in the room, was a door that led to the bathroom (and it has a tub, oh my gods yes).

Facing directly to me was a floor to ceiling window that was covered with black curtains. From the looks of it, I was only at the second floor- the American definition of second floor, mind you- so it wasn't that high.

On the opposite side of the bed was a long black table pushed to the wall and one of those chairs that spins. On the table was another lamp, but it was more of a desk lamp, and a telephone. But it was not the only thing on the desk.

On the desk were books and notebooks and other school supplies, already organized. And as usual, there was a note.

" _Go to Goode High. You are enrolled as a Junior. As much as you should focus on finding recruits, don't fail in school"_

I scoffed, shaking my head, "Great, I'm going to school. Wonderful" I ripped the note in half. I removed the clothes from my bag, placing them in the closet, and replaced them with the books and notebooks. I removed my circlet and placed it in a cabinet, safe from mortal eyes.

Grabbing the hotel room key card, I left the room and headed out to Goode High, which was conveniently a 5 minute taxi drive away.

* * *

"Welcome to Goode-"

"Shut it" I said, grabbing the pamphlet from the boy's hand. It was a map of the school. I decided on wandering around until I find something- or someone- to help me around. Not that I needed help, but a few instructions would be nice.

And then I heard it.

"Freshmen! Transfers! If you have any questions, come here, and we'll make sure you'll get your answer in the Goode way!" a shrill voice said. As I got closer, I saw a girl in a white polo shirt and white wash pants, handing out flyers and other papers to any students who got close. Her brown hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail. Behind her, a long table was covered in white cloth, people sitting behind it. They were also wearing white polo shirts.

There was a banner (which was really just a white cloth with the letters painted on) above them that read "Students' Information Area"

Well, I'm a student, and I need information. So I walked over there, holding the map in one hand.

"Hello!" the girl, who saw me walk closer, greeted, "Do you need directions? Any questions?"

She was smiling brightly, and I had to prevent the scowl that was threatening to go out to balance the cheerfulness she was emanating. "Yeah...what do I do?" I asked, being polite. " _Your purpose here is to find Hunters, and you can't persuade them into joining the Hunt if you're being a bitch"_ I told myself.

"Well, first you'll need your schedule. You can get it in the Principal's Office" she said, "Afterwards, you can either go directly to your homeroom- which will be in your schedule- and wait until the teacher comes in after the warning bell to lead the class into the auditorium OR you can go around the side of the school and look through the different clubs and organizations we have in our school _before_ you go to your class after the first bell. We have the chess club, the Artistic Artists- that's our art club, the school paper- the Goode News, then we have-"

"I get it" I interrupted, holding up a hand, "Thanks". I gave her a nod and a glare at the boy behind her who was staring at me the whole time. Didn't think I'd notice, huh?

I turned around and walked away. When I was far away and slightly lost was then I realized my mistake: I forgot to ask where the Principal's Office is in the map.

With some difficulty ( _damn dyslexia)_ , I managed to find the label "Principal's Office". On the way to the office, I was already looking around for possible Hunters.

I already crossed out those girl with boys in their arms, or vice versa. Those who were walking and talking with boys were in the "Maybe" list (just because you're with them doesn't mean you like them), but there is a chance of them being in love with the boys. In fact, everywhere I look, I see girls with boys.

This job was harder than I thought.

Because I was looking around for possible Hunters, I was bound to hit a person. The person's elbow hit me on the stomach. I grunted and frowned at them.

A "Watch it!" was on the tip of my tongue (although I was the one who should've been watching, the statement was an impulsive response), but when I looked up I wasn't expecting to see a face from camp.

Or rather, two of them.

Their faces were familiar, _very_ familiar. I just needed to connect the name to the face...

"Lou? Will?"

* * *

 **Will's POV**

" _Will"_

 _"Wake up"_

 _"Wiiiiiiill"_

I grumbled, sinking my face deeper into my pillow. A finger repeatedly poked my head and I blindly swatted at it. I felt my hand hit something so it meant that I was successful. Unfortunately, I was pulled away from my dream and was aware of two of my half-sibling standing beside my bunk, my back towards them.

"You know what, fine! You're the one who has a wake up call, not us" Austin said, once I was conscious enough to recognize voices.

"We should let that di Angelo kid in" one of my sisters, Victoria, said, "He's waiting outside. Maybe he can wake Will up"

The thought of Nico trying to wake me up made me shot up from my bunk ,"I'm up" I said to them. They grinned, still in pajamas, "What made you wake up, Will?" Victoria asked.

"The numerous possibilities of Nico waking you up or the fact that Nico will find you wearing nothing but tiny boxer shorts?" Austin continued. I frowned at them, "My boxer shorts are nothing to be ashamed of, and I wear them because the material is comfortable. Go away, go back to sleep" I waved them off, grabbing a pair of jeans at the foot of my bed and putting them on. Austin and Victoria went back to their respective bunks, falling asleep once their heads hit the pillow. I walked over to the door and opened it.

Waiting outside were two people, Lou Ellen and Nico di Angelo.

Seeing them two together was not surprising, since Nico usually goes to Lou Ellen for enchantments and such, like Greek Fire and other things Nico wants to add to the cabin. The surprising thing was that Nico was awake before 9 and was properly dressed. Still wearing black, but dressed still.

"Good morning, Sunshine" Nico said, crossing his arms, "I thought you woke up when the sun rises?"

"Nico" I groaned, massaging the bridge of my nose, "the sun isn't even up yet"

Lou shook her head, "Actually, it is. See?"

She pointed at the distance, just as the first rays of the sun shone through the sky. I groaned, then pulled myself together. Those who said I was a morning person only met me after I got a shower. Only my cabinmates- and now Lou Ellen and Nico- know that I'm a wreck before sunrise until I get clean, since showers have the magical ability to fully wake me up.

"Okay, I get it. I'll meet you both at the Dining Pavilion afterwards" I told them, "Let me get dressed and prepare my things"

Before the door could close, I heard Nico call out "If you're not there in 30 minutes, we're leaving you"

* * *

"What do you mean Nico left?" I exclaimed at the daughter of Hecate, who was going through her bag, moving notebooks away. She was by the Dining Pavilion, as planned. Behind her, those who had to leave early for school were eating. Lou Ellen had managed to dye the ends of her hair green since the last time I saw her- which was just 20 minutes ago.

"You heard me" she said, "Nico's gone"

"Why?"

"Something about people being slow and making him late"

"But, he said 30 minutes. It's now 20 minutes since then".

"I know, Solace, now shut up" Lou held up a finger, then she took out her iKlisi.

"Now, we get out Camp Borders" she said, "I can't call anyone inside. Damned settings. But first, we need to place our things in the Big House"

In case anyone was confused with why she said "Damned settings", the Hephaestus cabin had problems of the first model of the iKlisi.

Chiron had gone to them and told them that their invention had distracted campers from their training because they were either texting or playing with the apps- which were the same apps on a normal phone. That was when the Hephaestus cabin recalled all the phones they made and only gave them to those who were not year-rounders. Of course, there were complaints, but they had to deal with it. You could buy one from them, but it was damn expensive.

The thing about the new iKlisi was that it'll only turn on outside Camp. I was supposed to get one, but they won't believe me that I wasn't a year-rounder anymore, so I'm phone-less until I could earn more drachmas.

Lou, although a year-rounder, bought one. Where she got the drachmas, I won't even ask.

We agreed to meet at Half-Blood Hill afterwards. We took a detour so we could get our things from our respective cabins and placed them in the Big House, where Chiron said to place our things so they'd be brought to our houses- or place where we'd be staying for the school year- while we're at school. I placed mine in the "Manhattan" pile and grabbed a slip of paper from the patio table and wrote down the necessary details, like my name and the address of the place where my bag would be delivered- which was Percy's address.

Grabbing a piece of ribbon (that was already provided next to the slips of paper), I tied it on the strap of my bag and went off. I went back to my cabin to check if my outfit was okay for the last time.

Jeans, shirt and sneakers. I'm not aiming for extravagant, just clean. My camp necklace was on my neck, the familiar weight comforting. Running my fingers on my hair, I managed to make it look neat. I grabbed my backpack that had notebooks inside and head off.

Lou was already waiting for me when I arrived at the hill. She had her phone by her ear and held up and finger as I got closer, a gesture that meant "shut up". I looked at Peleus, who woke up, probably when Lou Ellen crossed the camp borders. I walked closer to him and ran my hand on his scales. The Golden Fleece shone above his head.

"Hello, Xander, this is Lou. Lou Ellen" Lou said on the phone, "Yeah, I know what time it is. Yeah, I know you have work, so you better listen now"

Lou continued her conversation of the phone with "Xander" for a while. I tried hard not to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help myself. I listened, absent-mindlessly running my fingers on Peleus' neck .

"Yeah, we're by the tree. No, we don't have any big luggage. Just backpacks." Lou said.

Lou listened to the person at the other end of the line for a while, then she pursed her lips, her eyebrows furrowed, "A son of Apollo, not Hecate. He's going to Goode, too. That's why he's with me". A pause. "Will Solace. Yes, that kid. I don't think they're dating. Yeah, I thought so too, but- wait, this isn't the time Xander. We have to go to school" she said. I raised an eyebrow at her dialogue, but she ignored me.

"You will? Good. Okay, I'll draw the runes. Goodbye" she said and ended the call. She placed her phone back in her bag and took out pieces of papers and started drawing runes on the paper.

I pulled away from Peleus and stood there awkwardly as Lou Ellen laid out the papers into a circle. She stood at the middle then beckoned me closer. "Step in the circle unless you want to take the bus" she said.

I stepped in the paper-rune circle, making sure I won't disturb any of the papers. I looked at Lou, going to ask what to do now, then I saw her mouth some words. She's chanting.

I stayed quiet as she chanted. The runes on the paper started to glow.

Then I felt weightless for a while. It was like shadow-travelling, but instead of darkness, I was almost blinded with the light. When I felt solid ground under my feet, my knees gave out and I fell face-first on a floor.

What a great way to start the day.

I pushed myself up, the tile floor cold against my palm, and looked up. I was in someone's living room. Beside me on the floor was a rug (Why didn't I fall there instead?). The place was like a messier version of a bachelor's pad. The trash can was filled with papers and wrappers. A deck of cards was sprawled out on a glass table, a glass of whisky next to it. The couch pillows were sprawled around the couch, one on the floor. In front of me was Lou Ellen and a tall guy with slightly long hair, and they were absorbed in their conversation.

"...late. You still have an hour until class start" the guy, who I assume is Xander, said.

Lou crossed her arms, "But we don't have the slightest clue where Goode is. If I did, I would have teleported there without your help"

Xander placed his hands on his hips. He had tattoos encircling his forearm. I realized that they were Greek runes. He turned to me, and offered a smile, "Hey, he's awake. I told you he survived"

Lou shrugged, "I didn't say I doubted you". Xander pulled me up, "Hey, name's Xander. Son of Hecate. How's it going?" he greeted

"Fine" I said, "I'm Will-"

Xander cut me off, "Will Solace. Son of Apollo. Yeah, I know. Hey, is it true that you and Ni-"

"Okay! Xander, don't you have a gig? Yeah, we'll be going now" Lou said, pushing Xander away, "Come on, Will"

I nodded at Xander in goodbye- he returned it with a grin- and silently followed Lou out of the place. My wiped the dust of my backpack as Lou led me out to the hallway. I followed her as she went down the steps and out the building. I recognized the streets as Manhattan. The last time I was in here, Kronos tried to take over the world.

"Sorry about Xander" Lou Ellen said after a while, when she tried to hail a taxi, "He might be my half-brother, but he acts like an Aphrodite kid"

"What's up with that?" I asked, trying to hail a taxi as well. With my height, drivers can see me better.

Lou shrugged, "No idea, but the whole cabin speculates that his father was a practitioner of love magic, and that was how he got our mother's attention".

A taxi eventually came up and stopped in front of us. While Lou went in the taxi, I looked at the taxi's plate number at the back, memorizing it, before stepping in the car.

"Goode High, and step on it" Lou said once I sat down. The driver revved up the engine and went off.

" _What were you doing back there?"_ Lou asked me in Greek.

" _Checking the plate number"_

 _"Why?"_

 _"Safety precautions"_

 _"Good point"_

* * *

"We have to wait in line?" I exclaimed, looking at the long line. Lou nodded, "Get in line before it gets longer, Solace"

I stepped in the line behind Lou just as another person lined behind me. After a minute, there were ten students behind me. I kept on looking ahead, checking if the line in front of us got shorter. Then, the door of the principal's office opened.

A familiar mop of unruly black hair walked out from the office, following a taller person with the same shade of jet black hair.

I nudged at Lou, then pointed at the two children of the Big Three, "Hey, it's Percy and Nico"

Lou looked at the direction of where my finger was pointing. She was up on her tip-toes, trying to peer over the head of the students in front of her, "I can't see"

"Actually, you can see, just not them"

"I don't need your sass this early in the morning" she muttered, "Anyways, scooch back a bit"

"I can't" I said, but Lou already attempted to step back, making me step back as well, stepping on the foot of the student behind me. He yelped in surprise and the uneven ground made me stumble a bit, my arm spreading out to balance myself. Unfortunately, my elbow collided with something hard, then a groan in pain.

I turned to the source of the groan. A girl was frowning, a look that said " _Watch it_ " clear on her face. I was about to apologized, then my mind registered the short, spiky hair and the electric blue eyes and the faint silver aura.

"Lou Ellen? Will Solace?" Thalia, the person who I accidentally elbowed, inquired loudly, her blue eyes slightly glowing. I took a hesitant step away. I've had experience of facing Big Three kids when their eyes were glowing slightly. It never ends well. It usually ends with people in the infirmary "by accident", angry tree nymphs, number of renovations, and Annabeth giving them a stern lecture.

Lou, who was in front of me in the line to the Principal's Office, offered a small smile, "Hi"

"Hey" she said, recollecting herself and standing straight, "Never expected to see the two of you here"

"Well, we go to school here" I said. Thalia raised an eyebrow, "I thought you were a year-rounder?" she asked. Fortunately, unlike the other Hunters, Thalia is more tolerant towards us boys.

"Not anymore. I can finally trust the people at camp to not get a broken bone every 5 minutes" I said, "What about you and the Hunters?"

Lou slapped me, "You're too loud." she reprimanded, then she turned to Thalia, "We can continue this discussion once we're outside people's earshot"

"Have you gotten your schedule?" I asked. She shook her head, "That's why I'm here. Where does the line end?"

I gestured behind me. Thalia leaned back to look at the length of the line, raised an eyebrow, then looked at us.

"Does that mean I have to waste my time in a line just to get two piece of paper?"

Lou and I nodded.

"We can get your schedule, if you want" Lou offered.

Thalia looked ready to reject, but she sighed, "Thanks. Hey, you guys haven't seen Percy and Nico, haven't you?"

"They went straight ahead, to that hallway" I said, pointing at the direction where I last saw the two demigods, "But it had been a while, so they're probably far"

"As long as I have a lead" Thalia said, turning around and walking to where I had pointed.

After a while, Lou finally walked in the Principal's office. I waited, tapping my foot to the beat of the campfire song the night before. When Lou came out from the office, I was already humming the song.

Lou held up 6 papers; the first three bigger than the other three. "I got your schedule as well. Get out of the line" she handed me 2 pieces of paper.

"Are you telling me I could've not formed a line?" I whined, "But, thank you. I guess"

"You're welcome" Lou said, her voice monotone, "Now, where can we find a Huntress daughter of Zeus?"

* * *

 **Thalia's POV**

Not that I was thinking getting girls to join the Hunt was easy, but it was. I wasn't really the one to go up to people and say " _Hey, I'm Thalia. Do you want to join a group of immortal maidens, hunting monsters with the Greek goddess Artemis?"_

Besides, there were things to consider before recruiting. Like they had to be maidens and they should be ready to reject boys.

Looking around the clubs, I wondered if there was a " _We reject boys_ " club. It'll make my job easier.

But I found the School Paper, "The Goode News". Unlike the other clubs, with booths and stands, they were just 2 girls and a boy sitting on the grass with papers and pencils around them, a camera around one of the girls neck. A bondpaper with "The Goode News" printed on it in a large font was taped on the tree behind them.

The girl without the camera around her neck saw me walk closer, but she didn't acknowledge me.

"Hey" I said, trying to start a conversation. The girl, whose blonde hair was pulled back into a bun, looked up to me. It was a bit messy, since strands of her hair framed her face.

"Hi" the girl said, offering a faint smile.

"So..." I trailed off, looking at the bond paper they taped on the tree, "The Goode News?"

"It's the school paper" she explained, pulling her knees to her chest, "We just had a major decline in members since the majority graduated last year"

"This is what happens when we don't recruit freshmen" the boy mumbled, pulling the grass under him, "A cartoonist, a news writer, and a photojournalist who is going to graduate next year"

I turned to him. He had what people would describe as the surfer look, tanned skinned with slightly long blond hair, and he was now placing the grass he ripped off on the hair of the girl with the camera. The girl, who was hunched over her camera, didn't react. Her brown hair draped over face like a curtain. When I listened closely, I heard a faint snore.

"Is she...?"

"Just let her sleep" the girl said, "Better let her sleep now than in class"

"So," the guy turned to me, "are you interested to join the paper? I know people should be more enthusiastic, but I know many people just find the shrilly ' _Welcome to our club. Come join us'_ annoying" he said, making the pitch of his voice higher to make a point.

The girl smirked, then looked back at me, "I know this is a long shot, but do you want to join? I mean, we need the members, and we can train you on your field"

The guy coughed, "We're desperate"

The girl shot him a quick glare, then returned her gaze to me, "So, what do you say? Want to be a part of 'The Goode News'?"

I looked at her, then at the sleeping girl, then at the people behind me. As much as I wanted to decline, (writing wasn't really my thing) I thought of the chance of being able to go around, meet people, meet possible Hunters

Call me ambitious, but that was my quest.

"Yeah" I said, "Sounds nice"

* * *

 **So, guys. Do you think the "Ellen" in Lou Ellen's name is her second name or her surname? Because I have no idea.**

 **I have reduced Xander into a secondary OC.**

 **Also, concerning Anallise, Mai, Agnes and etc, I will incorporate them, but they won't be known as Anallise, Mai and Agnes anymore. In fact, some details would be changed about them.**

 **For Forevermore fans (Forevermore is a telenovela in the Philippines), _no_ _I didn't name my OC's Xander and Agnes after Xander Grande and Agnes Calay. I made this story /way/ before Forevermore was shown._ I'm not even a fan of the show (my sister is, though)**

 **Reviews are appreciated guys :D. They are written motivation, in my opinion. It's assurance that people actually want me to update.**


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